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The Critical Anthropology for Global Health interest group within the Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA) regularly asks its members to “take a stand” on a contemporary health issue. In 2008/2009, this initiative focused on Unauthorized Im/migration and Health, which led to the development of the AccessDenied blog and related publications.

The current working group on Global Health Insurance Reform has announced that a preliminary SMA “Takes a Stand” statement on health insurance reform is now publicly available for comment on the SMA website. The statement’s primary goal is to analyze health insurance reform in the U.S. through the lessons learned from transformations of health care systems worldwide. This analysis is situated within the context of broader theoretical questions about recent neoliberal changes in both health care and the state, and about the social contract in general. In the spirit of making this initiative a true dialogue, the statement was built upon many of the points made in mini-statements contributed over the last several months by medical anthropologists with regional and topical expertise. Direct links to these mini-statements are included in the document.

This is just the first step of the process. All are invited to read the statement and leave comments by clicking on the “Leave Comments/Feedback” link in the upper left-hand corner of the webpage to share your comments, ideas, and suggestions.

About ACCESS DENIED

Do unauthorized im/migrants have a right to health? To medical care? To publicly funded care? In this blog, medical anthropologists host a lively conversation among scholars, activists, policymakers and others on the complex and contentious issue of unauthorized migration and health. We approach the issue comparatively, with attention to power, cultural context, and historical depth. Through empirically grounded, critical dialogue, we aim to rethink current debates and inform policy about unauthorized migration and the right to health care.

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